- the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia
Middleham (#23 on map) is now a civil parish and a small market town in the Richmondshire District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in valley known as Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales and is on the northern side of the valley above the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. There has been a settlement since Roman times, recorded in the Domesday Book as "Medelai", i.e. "middle ham or village". The parish population was 825 in the 2011 UK census and estimated at 781 in 2019.
Construction began in 1190 of Middleham Castle, which still dominates the town. The Nevilles, Earls of Westmorland, acquired it through marriage in the 13th century. It has been dubbed the "Windsor of the North". The castle belonged to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, when his cousin Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) came there to learn knighthood skills in 1462. During the Wars of the Roses, both Edward IV and Henry VI were held prisoner there. Richard, as Duke of Gloucester, became master of the castle in 1471 after Warwick's death at the Battle of Barnet. He used it as his political base for ruling the North on behalf of his brother Edward IV. Richard married Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville, in 1472. Middleham Castle is where their son Edward was born in about 1473 and died in April 1484. Richard III, who died in August 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, was the last reigning King of England to perish in battle.
Most buildings in old parts of Middleham predate 1600. The old rectory incorporates some medieval features. In 1607 Middleham was important enough to house a royal court for residents of the forest of Wensleydale. Middleham and surrounding lands were part of the Crown estates from the accession of Richard III until Charles I sold the manor to the City of London in about 1628. In 1661 the City of London sold Middleham Manor on to Thomas Wood of Littleton. It has remained in private hands since then.
For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Middleham.
Prior to the nationwide municipal reorganization of 1974, Middleham was located in Leyburn Rural District. Historically, it was an ancient and ecclesiastical parish in the Hang West Wapentake.
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